Even after all these years in France, I still get lost in translation.
I can communicate well… understand even better… but sometimes what I hear and comprehend aren’t actually the reality. It’s so very easy in a language that is not your own to miss the little nuances… to fool yourself that you have the words under control… that you are on the same page…
Not always the case for me… especially when it comes to the little details…
Yesterday I went to see the kitchen for Le Petit Bijou…
I have an image in my mind… and I presumed that I had conveyed this successfully…
A wall of armoire style cupboards on one side with a concealed refrigerator… all the other gadgets, with shelves above, on the other.
Simple, practical… it’s a holiday house… Who wants to cook anyway… Right?
Especially in Provence… when out the door are many marvellous cafes and restaurants. Yet… sometimes it’s fun to buy at the local markets and take a night off… put the feet up and have a home cooked meal… So the kitchen, although small, will do it’s job.
I got ‘lost in translation’ trying to design some fancy panelling… no big deal… it doesn’t really matter at all…except I did smile when I saw their interpretation… In a space the size of a cupboard we will have more panels than Versailles…
The wonderful thing about the carpenters, the very same who worked on our house years ago, is that they want to please… Nothing is too much trouble… and they are artisans who care about their work.
We worked it out… it’s not perfect but I would rather have too many panels than hurt their feelings… Yes, I am a soft touch… Make or break it’s not…seeing their smiles, their pride turn inside out would be much, much worse…
The kitchen will still be pretty and feel as I imagined it to feel…
As I was leaving the atelier… I stole a look into the office…
I think the photograph above tells the story…
This is a very successful carpentry business… always in demand…
I did laugh… In a huge warehouse of doors, shelves, cupboards and bookcases… wonderful joinery, fabulous mouldings… all that we could dream of when it comes to storage…
The office was… well… the office was as it was…
It’s aways the way isn’t it? xv
Be inspired by Living In Provence and Provence Style or another of my favourites… Essentially French
